Hockenbury Discovering Psychology 5th txtbk

Introduction: What Is Stress?501Major Life Events, Daily Hassles,and Stress The collapse of theI-35 bridge that carried trafficacross the Mississippi River inMinneapolis killed 13 people andinjured scores more. Rescuerstoiled for weeks to locate thevictims and remove debris andsubmerged vehicles. Beyond thevictims and rescue workers,however, thousands of peoplewere affected by the bridge’scollapse. Automobile, rail, river,and even bicycle and pedestriantraffic was affected, and thousandsof commuters needed tofind a new route to downtownMinneapolis. The daily hasslescreated by major disasters addsto the high level of stress felt bythose affected.Are there gender differences in the frequency of daily hassles? One study measuredthe daily hassles experienced by married couples (Almeida & Kessler, 1998).The women experienced both more daily hassles and higher levels of psychologicalstress than their husbands did. For men, the most common sources of daily stresswere financial and job-related problems. For women, family demands and interpersonalconflict were the most frequent causes of stress. However, whenwomen do experience a stressful day in the workplace, the stress is more likelyto spill over into their interactions with their husbands (Schulz & others,2004). Men, on the other hand, are more likely to simply withdraw.How important are daily hassles in producing stress? The frequency of daily hasslesis linked to both psychological distress and physical symptoms, such as headaches andbackaches (Bottos & Dewey, 2004; DeLongis & others, 1988). In fact, the numberof daily hassles people experience is a better predictor of physical illness and symptomsthan is the number of major life events experienced (Burks & Martin, 1985).Why do daily hassles take such a toll? One explanation is that such minor stressors arecumulative (Repetti, 1993). Each hassle may be relatively unimportant in itself, but aftera day filled with minor hassles, the effects add up. People feel drained, grumpy, andstressed out. Daily hassles also contribute to the stress produced by major life events. Anymajor life change, whether positive or negative, can create a ripple effect, generating ahost of new daily hassles (Maybery & others, 2007).For example, like many other New Yorkers, our niece Katie had to contend witha host of daily hassles after the terrorist attacks. She had no place to live, could notget access to her clothing or other possessions, and was unable to get money fromthe Red Cross because her roommate’s father’s name was on the lease. After pleadingwith the National Guardsmen patrolling the area, Katie and her roommate, Lydia,were allowed to get some of their belongings out of their apartment. Theyloaded as much as they could into a shopping cart, dragging and pushing the cartsome 30 blocks north to a friend’s home. Katie had to take a second waitress job topay for the new, more expensive apartment.Social and Cultural Sources of StressIt probably won’t come as a shock to you that crowding, crime, unemployment,poverty, inadequate health care, and substandard housing are all social conditionsassociated with increased stress (Gallo & Matthews, 2003). When people live in anenvironment that is inherently stressful, they often experience ongoing, or chronic,stress (Krantz & McCeney, 2002).daily hasslesEveryday minor events that annoy and upsetpeople.